The deceased, who has been named as 61-year-old Richard Spencer Roberts of Old Colwyn, is believed to have died of a heart attack as he started his shift at the RCM Aggregates quarry.

Police and paramedics were called to the scene at 8.40pm on Monday night after his body was discovered.

When paramedics deemed the steps too wet and treacherous to carry a body down, undertaker Mr Reece of G J Reece of Flint contacted a friend, David Jones of Nationwide Access, a specialist crane company.

After Mr Jones arrived it took a 100ft access platform to bring Mr Roberts' body down. The whole operation taking three hours.

'It was a difficult job,' said Mr Jones.

'There was a layer of rock dust about three inches deep everywhere.

'It would have been lethal for a doctor or paramedic to have gone up the steps of the tower to see the body so I went up and brought it down to them.

'It was dark and quite difficult as I had not done anything like that before but we got the man down and the doctor conf irmed he was dead.'

RMC Aggregates spokesman Ian Southcott said: 'Mr Roberts was carrying out maintenance work just before 8pm. That was the last job he did before he suffered, what we believe, was a heart attack. At the end of this month he would have worked for the company for five years.

'This has come as a real shock to his colleagues and friends and our thoughts and sympathies are with his family at this diff icult time.'